In recent years, computers have proliferated in all parts of worldwide society, including but not limited to, banking, financial services, business, education, and various governmental entities. For instance and without limitation, these computer systems allow individuals to consummate financial transactions, to exchange confidential scientific and/or medical data, and to exchange highly proprietary business planning data. Hence, these computer systems require and/or allow very sensitive and confidential data to be stored and transmitted over great geographic distances.
Moreover, the rise of multinational communications networks, such as the publicly available Internet communications system, has truly made the world a smaller place by allowing these computers, separated by great geographic distances, to very easily communicate and exchange data. In essence, these worldwide communications channels/networks, sometimes collectively referred to as "the Information Superhighway" have electronically connected the peoples of the world--both the good and the very bad.
That is, while these computer systems have increased efficiency and greatly changed the manner in which we work and interact, they have been especially prone to unauthorized "break-ins", viral destruction, and/or unauthorized data modifications. Accordingly, the rather sensitive and confidential data which is stored and used within these computer systems and transmitted between these computer systems has been the target of attack by people known as "hackers" and by high level and very sophisticated espionage and industrial spies. Computer access security and data transmission security has recently come to the forefront of importance and represents one of the great needs of our times.
Many attempts have been made to create and utilize various techniques (hereinafter the term "technique" as used and/or employed in this Application refers to any combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware which comprise an apparatus and a methodology whose components cooperatively achieve an overall security objective) to "ensure" that only authorized users are allowed to gain access to these respective computer systems. These prior techniques, while somewhat effective, suffer from various drawbacks.
For example, one such prior computer system security technique comprises the use of predetermined "passwords". That is, according to this security technique, each computer system has a list of authorized passwords which must be communicated to it before access is given or allowed. In theory, one or more "trusted" system administrators distribute these "secret" passwords to a group of authorized users of a computer system. The "secret" nature of the passwords, in theory, prevents unauthorized users from accessing the computer system (since presumably these unauthorized users do not have the correct passwords). This technique is not very effective since oftentimes those authorized individuals mistakenly and unwittingly expose their password to an unauthorized user. Moreover, this technique of data security may be easily "broken" by a "hacker's" deliberate and concentrated attempt at automatically inputting, to the targeted computer, hundreds and perhaps thousands of passwords until an authorized password is created.
In addition to the prior password technique other, more sophisticated access techniques are known and used. For example, there are known techniques which require the possession of a physical object or feature, such as "access cards" which are "read" by a card reading device and biometric authentication techniques (e.g. requiring the initial input of such authorized user physical characteristics as fingerprints and eye patterns and the later comparison of these input patterns to those of a "would-be" user). Both of these prior techniques are relatively complicated, are relatively costly, and are prone to error, such as and without limitation, mistaken unauthorized entry due to their complexity. These techniques are also prone to unauthorized entry by use of counterfeit and/or stolen cards, objects, and fingerprint readers. Other prior data security techniques, such as encryption, attempt to prevent unauthorized use of transmitted data or unauthorized access to a computer system by modifying and/or changing the transmitted data in a certain manner, and/or requiring the transmission and receipt of modified data before access is granted. While somewhat effective, these prior encryption techniques are relatively costly and complicated and require one or more known "encryption keys" which are in constant exchange between users and which are themselves susceptible to theft and/or inadvertent disclosure. Furthermore, the best-known and perhaps strongest encryption algorithm is proprietary and cannot be used without a costly license. Moreover, since the encrypted message still provides all of the transmitted data, in some form, it is still possible for one to gain access to the entire data stream by "breaking the encryption code". Since no encryption algorithm is ever considered "unbreakable", encryption is not considered to be a "foolproof" security solution.
There is therefore a need to provide a technique to substantially prevent the unauthorized access to one or more computer systems and which overcomes the various drawbacks of these afore-described prior techniques. There is also a need to provide a technique to substantially prevent the unauthorized interception and use of transmitted data and which overcomes the various drawbacks of the prior art. Applicant's invention(s) seek and do meet these needs. Applicant's invention, in one embodiment, achieves these objectives by splitting the data into a plurality of separate communication channels, each of which must be "broken" for the entire data stream to be obtained. In essence, in this embodiment of Applicant's invention, cooperatively form the entire message. The splitting of the data in this manner may also "fool" the would be data thief into believing that he or she has obtained all of the data when, in fact, only several communication channels are obtained.